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Sprint Weekend
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Toto Wolff says Mercedes’ first update package of the season for the W17 at the Canadian Grand Prix will only matter if the performance shows up on track. Wolff said: "We bring our first update package of the year to Montréal, but we know that performance is only performance once it is delivered on track. Despite being in the middle of May, we are just four races into the season. There is a long year ahead and, whilst this is an important weekend, it will not decide any outcomes."
Formula 1 has announced a new partnership with Hasbro to launch Monopoly Formula 1 Edition, with pre-orders opening on 20 May and the full release set for 15 July. The game is themed around the current F1 calendar and, instead of the usual Monopoly format, players pick a team and move helmet tokens around a central track to score championship points rather than collecting £200 for passing Go. F1 chief commercial officer Emily Prazer said: "Monopoly is one of the most iconic and best-loved board games in the world, so we're thrilled to bring a Formula 1 twist to such a classic."
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem says “only the people who are behind” are complaining about Formula 1’s 2026 power unit regulations, insisting every team and manufacturer had the same time to prepare. Ben Sulayem said: "Everybody had the same time: if you look at August of 2022 and then the implementation in the [first] test they did which was in Barcelona [this year], that was enough time for everyone. Some of them had an issue with the car – [some] the power unit and some with the chassis – but it's amazing how only the people who are behind who are complaining. Did you hear Mercedes or Ferrari complain? No, of course they won't... [the criticism is] only from the people who maybe didn't do it right."
Daniel Ricciardo says he felt the need to distance himself from Formula 1 after the abrupt end to his career, but has started watching the sport again as he rebuilds a healthier relationship with racing. Ricciardo said: "Let's say, in the immediate end of my career, I ultimately hurt, and I didn't know how I felt towards the sport. You're like, 'What do I do. Do I need to remove myself.' It was just weird. So I didn't follow for a bit. Now I watch, but I'm not stopping my day for it. If I missed the live coverage, I'll watch it later that day or whatever."
Lance Stroll says “the future is very bright” at Aston Martin despite the team’s difficult start to the 2026 season, with both drivers unable to complete a full race without a retirement until the Miami Grand Prix. Stroll said: "I firmly believe in this project, even though right now we're experiencing some difficult times. The future is very bright and I want to ride this tough spell out and be part of the journey we're on."
Williams have brought in Victor Martins as reserve driver for this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, with Luke Browning unavailable because he is competing in Japan in the fourth round of the Super Formula Championship. Martins, Williams’ test and development driver in 2026, will work trackside for the first time since his FP1 outing at the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix; confirming the change, a team spokesperson said: "He has been working closely with Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz from the factory, contributing to car development and setup refinement during race weekends. Victor now steps into a trackside role for the first time since driving in FP1 at the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix with the team."
Red Bull technical director Pierre Waché said the team’s Miami Grand Prix upgrade package delivered “encouraging” gains in performance. Waché said: "Miami saw us take a clear step forward, with the upgrade package delivering encouraging gains in performance and helping address some key areas on the car. It highlighted some car weaknesses and room of improvement to extract the overall performance."
Red Bull technical director Pierre Waché says this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix will be “another good test” of the team’s RB22 upgrade package introduced in Miami, alongside minor updates. Waché said: "Canada will be another good test of the package alongside some minor updates this weekend. It has been a positive boost for the team to see the progress translating on track after a lot of hard work behind the scenes, and we expect car development to be made as we head into the European races."
Christian Horner is understood to be in talks with BYD over a potential Formula 1 return tied to a new 12th-team entry, after meeting BYD executive vice president Stella Li at the Chinese manufacturer’s Cannes Film Festival activation last week during his visit to the south of France. The discussions are not believed to have gone as far as approving an F1 project, but sources indicate they were positive, with BYD said to favour building a team from scratch rather than buying into an existing operation; Horner is also now free to take on a new F1 role after the non-compete clause from his Red Bull exit in the middle of last year expired.
Lando Norris says McLaren can take confidence into the Canadian Grand Prix because Montreal is “a track that suits us”, after being encouraged by the team’s turnaround in performance in Miami. Norris said: "Certainly. I think you'd have to feel silly if you don't feel confident about the future when we improved so much this weekend. We also know it's a track that suits us. Yet [Mercedes] were still very fast, and we're going to go to a track that Mercedes have probably been the best at over the last five, six years. So, we have to wait and see."
Lando Norris says Formula 1 needs to get back to “flat-out racing” as drivers push to give their input on rule changes amid criticism of the current engine regulations. Norris said: "We just have to give our input honestly, and we want the fans to have a good time, and we want ourselves to have a good time, and we also want F1 to be what we've always grown up seeing, which is flat-out racing, which is not what we've had so far."
Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen says the team has uncovered “some ideas and evidence” after investigating why Pierre Gasly was less comfortable than team-mate Franco Colapinto during the Miami Grand Prix weekend. Nielsen said: "We've done some digging on Pierre's side in the weeks since Miami to understand as to why, relative to the performances he has shown so far this season, he wasn't too happy in the car across the weekend. We have some ideas and evidence to suggest what occurred, and we hope both cars will be up there and scoring points again in Canada."
Martin Brundle says Formula 1 drivers are “a little bit scared” about how the new 2026 cars will behave in the rain, with the current machines having had only limited wet running so far. Brundle said: "The drivers are all a little bit scared of just what these cars are going to be like in the rain. They have got so much power and less downforce, less grip, and they don't know yet."
Lando Norris says he wants to race outside Formula 1 at some point and has highlighted Le Mans as one of his goals. Norris said: "I still feel like I want to go and try other things. Do Le Mans, now McLaren are doing Le Mans, so maybe go and do that at some point. But I don't know. I'm still young, so I've not thought of everything just yet."
Honda trackside general manager and chief engineer Shintaro Orihara says giving Aston Martin drivers Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso more confidence in the car in Canada is an “important target” that can “unlock lap time”. Orihara said: "In Montreal, which is Lance's home race, we will focus on enhancing the driveability and our energy management strategy to support the drivers in building more confidence. In fact, this is an important target of our race weekend. If we can give more confidence to the drivers in entering the corners faster and carrying more speed, then we unlock lap time."
Daniel Juncadella has revealed to SoyMotor that Max Verstappen was originally due to start last Saturday’s Nürburgring 24 Hours, but changed the plan on Friday night after qualifying because he did not want his instinct to attack early to put the team’s race at risk. Verstappen told him: "You should start instead, because I know myself and it's a 24-hour race. First lap, fourth place – I'm going to want to fight everyone. You'd better start instead." Juncadella therefore took the opening stint in the #3 Mercedes-AMG GT3, with Verstappen getting in after around an hour for his first double stint.
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